leadership lessons: introducing a speaker

Leadership Lessons:

Introducing a Speaker

inspire a world of good © Trisha Craig and Wheelock College Singapore

Introducing a Speaker

inspire a world of good

• As a leader, whether of a classroom, a school, an organization, a group for whom you are volunteering, etc., it is likely that at some point you will be called upon to introduce a speaker to a group of people.

• This does not have to be a nerve-wracking task. The more prepared you are and with a few practice run-throughs, it is quite easy. And with practice, it definitely gets easier.

• The first questions to ask yourself are:• Who is the speaker?• Who is my audience?• What is the event?

© Trisha Craig and Wheelock College Singapore

The Three Questions


• A good introduction is short, engaging and targeted to the event and audience at hand

• A particular speaker may have done many things in her life so you will want to choose the ones that are most relevant to the event you are running

• You want to engage your audience so important to make sure what you’re saying in terms of content, level of vocabulary and emphasis will be meaningful to your audience

• Consider the nature of the event. Is it formal or informal? That will help you choose your words


Who is the Speaker?


• First, you want to gather information about the speaker so you can put it together in a coherent, short, intro.

• Remember, Google is your friend• Does the speaker have a personal website? A

professional one? Often these will have the CV of the person or the official short bio.

• Has the person spoken at other places such as a conference? Often the website for other talks will have a bio or introduction.

• Has the person been in the news? • Do other people have things to say about the person,

like reviews of books?


Pulling the information together


• Biographical: Some biographical information is important but the introduction should not feel like you are reading the person’s CV:• Mention current position(s): Mr. X is an author and illustrator; he

also runs his own consulting firm. Dr. Y is the head of the Centre for the Rights of the Child and also is professor of Psychology at Big State University.

• Mention past positions – focus on most prestigious and most relevant. He worked as an advertising executive before taking up writing. While based in Geneva, she chaired a UN task force on human trafficking.

• Mention relevant academic credentials, usually just most recent but don’t recite a long list. Mr. X studied business and fine arts in France. Dr. Y holds a Doctorate from Oxford University.


Some information is best avoided


• Avoid: • Age except things that were a particular age-related achievement:

‘the youngest person to receive the Man Asian Literary Prize’, ‘the oldest person to scale Mt. Everest’

• Ethnicity: you can certainly mention an achievement related to ethnicity such a recognition by an organization like Mendaki or the Daughters of the American Revolution but ethnicity per se is often irrelevant.

• Marital and parenthood status: it is usually not relevant in a formal setting whether the person is married or has children; an example of an exception could be someone who has written a parenting book, then it would be relevant.

• Scandals: these are best avoided unless it is part of a redemption narrative: “he overcame his past delinquency and gambling addiction, and uses that experience to help young adults avoid those mistakes”


Who is your audience?


• Do you know them? Are you part of them as a group? If so, you can be a little more informal and use the pronoun we. “We all read Mr. X’s book so it is a special treat to introduce him to you.”

• If you do not know the speaker, stay on the side of formality “It is my pleasure to introduce an author to you who has touched so many people with his writing.”

• If your audience is highly educated or engaged in the topic, you can be more technical in your choice of language: “Dr Y’s work on deterrence and the social reintegration and repatriation of victims of trafficking has been recognized worldwide.” Otherwise, language like this might be better: “Dr Y has been recognized for her hard work on behalf of victims of trafficking - both designing programs to get them back home whether that is in a local community or abroad, and figuring out ways to stop trafficking from taking place.”


What is your event?


• This is very closely related to who your audience is but there are some other considerations

• Is this a stand alone event or part of a series? If a series, you might say something like “We are pleased to have Mr. X here with us today; his is the third talk in our Authors@Wheelock series this year.’

• Are there other people who will be speaking, for example as part of a panel? The individual introductions of panel members are typically much briefer than if it is an individual giving a talk.

• Is this a really big deal – for example, is the speaker the Keynote Event for a big conference or gathering? In that case, the introduction might be a little more lengthy.

• Does the speaker have a special relationship to the group – for example, if Dr. Chan Lin Ho, director of professional development at ECDA were being introduced at a conference, they might not mention her Wheelock degree, but you would definitely mention that she is an alum for a talk to current students.


Meeting your speaker


• Ask the organizer of the event, whether it’s a faculty member in the case of a class visitor, or Trisha in the case of a Wheelock talk or the relevant person from SIT, to introduce you before the talk.

• Smile, look the person in the eye, shake hands and introduce yourself. Say that you are going to be introducing him or her and that you have prepared an introduction. If you have a card, present it to the person.

• If you are unsure how to pronounce the speaker’s name, ask.

• If you have volunteered to introduce the speaker because you are interested in his or her field or are familiar with his or her work, say that. Feel free to ask questions.


Introducing your speaker – formal event


• Introduce yourself to the audience• Begin with a welcome: Does anyone special need to be

recognized in the audience? (This is typically for more formal events.)

• On whose behalf are you speaking?• Thank the audience for coming• Set out any ground rules:

• will there be Q&A following the discussion, should questions be held until the end

• Are there any restrictions on dissemination of the content: Chatham House Rules, may the audience blog or tweet (tell them they may), do you want them to blog or tweet (encourage them to do so)

• Introduce your speaker, including the topic he or she will speak about. If there is a formal title for the talk, use that.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham_House_Rule

Introducing your speaker – informal event


• Introduce yourself to the audience or just remind them if it’s in your class (this will help the speaker remember who you are)

• Thank the speaker for being there and say something about why it’s meaningful

• If the person isn’t someone who has a public profile, just mention why he or she is there, i.e. He is the father of a child with Down’s Syndrome and is going to share his experience with us or if the person represents an organization, mention its mission, i.e. She is the executive of Save the Mangroves, a voluntary environmental organization dedicated to preserving some of Singapore’s coastal lands.


Examples: Mr. X


Good afternoon, I’m Prudence, one of the Writing Centre tutors here at Wheelock. On behalf of my colleagues at the Centre I am thrilled to present Mr. X, author of a book that we all read earlier in the semester, Toddlers and Tiaras, a young adult novel about royal babies. Mr. X has had a fascinating journey to becoming a writer. Trained as an advertising specialist, he worked as an ad executive for many years before taking the plunge to become a full time author and since then he has written seven books, which have been called ‘magical’ by critics. He holds degrees in fine arts and business from the Sorbonne and INSEAD, not a typical combination and I’m sure we might have questions about how he combined those fields later during the question and answer period. Mr. X is going to talk to us about the writer’s craft so please join me in giving him a special Wheelock welcome.

You would begin to clap and turn the event over to Mr. X and take your seat.


Examples: Dr. Y


Good afternoon, I’m Daniel, a senior here at Wheelock College Singapore. On behalf of the college, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to today’s talk and I want to extend a special welcome to the Ngee Ann Poly lecturers as well as Lucy Chew-Quek from HMS who have joined us for the event. We are honoured to present Dr. Y, Director of the Centre for the Rights of the Child and Professor of Psychology at Big State University. Prior to coming to Big State, Dr. Y was based in Geneva, and there she chaired a UN task force on human trafficking. Dr. Y holds a Doctorate from Oxford University and has been awarded numerous honorary degrees for her work on global human rights. Today, she will discuss “Human Trafficking and Child Slavery in Southeast Asia;” following her talk, we will open the floor to questions. Dr. Y is a passionate defender of the rights of the victims of trafficking and as such, you are encouraged to blog or tweet during her talk to raise awareness of this issue. I am delighted to invite Dr. Y to begin.

You would begin to clap and turn the event over to Dr. Y and take your seat.


Examples: Madam Z and Mr. W


Sometimes, there are speakers who come in a much less formal way – they may come as guest lecturers to part of your class. You still want to introduce them but it doesn’t have to be so formal as when the event is a big public one. Here is an example of that kind of introduction.

Good afternoon, as you all know, I’m Persephone from the junior class. We are really pleased to welcome two guest speakers to our class, Madam Z and Mr. W. In our lectures, we have been learning about inclusion in the classroom and what we can do as teachers. But today, it is a privilege to hear from two people who have first hand knowledge about that here in Singapore. Madam Z is the mother of a child with ASD and she will share with us her experiences. Mr. W is the executive director of the Autism Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of autism and assist families find the services that will help them. I know we will learn a lot from them so please give them your full attention. Madam Z and Mr. W, thank you so much for being here.


For all types of speakers


• For most speakers, an introduction of under a minute is sufficient

• Dress appropriately for the occasion – a daytime talk or in class talk means business casual; a more formal night time talk is regular business attire

• Speak at a deliberate pace, do not rush. Practice where you want to pause and where to add emphasis

• No reading from your hand-phones! You may have a notecard to remind you but only to glance at. Look at your audience.

• Smile. You should convey warmth and professionalism.• Practice a few times in advance.


leadership lessons: introducing a speaker

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